Spheres is coherent, inspired and champions new music . . . This is serious stuff. The fact that you can fall in love with the pieces on your very first listen is just a bonus . . . The piece that most effectively bridges the worlds of old and modern classical music; of inaccessibly cerebral tunes and universally beautiful fare is Arvo Pärt's "Fratres" . . . [the Rundfunkchor Berlin] sound glorious, as one would expect. On paper, some of the pieces seem unlikely bedfellows but Hope draws them deftly together and weaves his very own music of the spheres.

Record Review /
Christopher Lim,
Business Times (Singapore) / 22. February 2013

Daniel Hope who is a seriously excellent violinist has done a great job in exploring the notion of the "music of the spheres" and his playing is wonderful as one would expect . . .

. . . everything here is beautiful while exhibiting a fair amount of variety and even imagination. The opening track, Baroque composer Johann Paul von Westhoff's "Imitazione delle campane" . . . is a little surprising for how its restlessness sounds quintessentially modern . . . [pianist Jacques Ammon's] playing is beautiful . . . Hope is featured on every track, and his sound is wonderfully lustrous.

Record Review /
Steve Holtje,
Emusic.com / 13. March 2013

The chosen works are varied in everything except quality, conveying an overarching sense of calm. Delightful.

Record Review /
Alexander Bryce,
Scotsman / 17. March 2013

His virtuosity shines in Pärt's "Fratres," in which the opening arpeggios unravel so quickly and smoothly that the effect is like a ripple of a stone on water . . . Hope makes some fine choices . . . The range and gravitas of Michael Nyman's "Drowning by Numbers" is especially powerful in Hope's context, taking on the effect of a world constantly turning, passing by warm, resplendent areas and darker ones.

Record Review /
Ronni Reich,
Star Ledger (Newark) / 22. March 2013

A solo virtuoso violinist has the power to move the coldest of hearts, stir the deepest and most hidden emotions, and ride above the fray: especially one as sublime as this. On hearing British violinist Daniel Hope's new album "Spheres" I felt immediately transported and disconnected from the everyday hustle and bustle of Berlin . . . his expressive collection of contemporary adventurous interpretations of 17th to 21st century recordings made an instant impression on me. He isn't afraid to re-interpret works that are so well ingrained the collective classical memory, and this is a brave and honest move that sets him apart from other violinists (and indeed classical musicians) I have come across in recent years . . . Daniel's album is inventive, playful, pensive and compelling and never predictable . . .

I've always admired Daniel Hope for his determination to follow an unfashionable path . . . Pärt's "Fratres" emerges as the craggy masterwork it truly is, and the works by German Baroque composer Johann von Westhoff and Philip Glass are engaging . . . My star ratings salute Hope's determination to wring every drop of expressivity from the music . . . and the glowing recording sound.

Sort of an easy-listening new age recital, and totally lovely. Daniel Hope is a very fine violinist . . . This is all delightfully restful, pretty and nearly meditative stuff . . . one of the greatest pleasures in this beautiful collection is the many moments of discovery . . . The performances here are all just wonderful . . . beautiful, languid playing . . . Eighteen fairly short, very pretty and occasionally attention-getting miniatures form a nearly seamless mélange of tranquility. I enjoyed this a great deal. This may be my favorite Daniel Hope album. You can just put this on, sit back and enjoy. All music should strive for this.

Record Review /
Daniel Coombs,
Audiophile Audition / 06. June 2013

Hope gives the Bach a modern twist but not as abstract as what one would expect of contemporary music. They are simply beautiful.